Moscow film festival honors Depardieu

MOSCOW, July 3 (UPI) -- The 28th Moscow International Film Festival recognized actor Gerard Depardieu with the Konstantin Stanislavsky award for lifetime achievement.

The French actor, whose latest film, "How Much Do You Love Me," won an award for best director, said he had been inspired by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Depardieu also practices the acting methods of Stanislavsky.

He said he been frustrated in several unsuccessful attempts to make a film in Russia, although he "had a good feeling for the soul of the Russian people," the BBC reported.

About 200 films were shown at the festival, but only one Russian film had been entered -- "The Worm" by Alexei Muradov -- which won no awards, the BBC said.

Critics charged that the festival, which was begun in 1935 and has been held annually since 1995, had failed to distinguish itself. Many films had been shown first elsewhere, and Russian filmmakers were exhibiting their wares at competing festivals, rather than allying themselves with their homeland, Daily Variety reported.